Keep Your Cool: What Temperature Should I Serve My Wine?
It is commonly thought that the rule of temperature for serving wines is: red at room temperature, white chilled in the fridge. Though common, these guidelines are, without being too judgmental, wrong.
The mistaken idea that red wine should be served at room temperature evolved out of the intended wisdom that red wine should be served at cellar* room temperature. Whereas we like to keep the temperature of rooms in which we actually spend time at around 72 to 75 degrees F, cellars, at least old-school cellars, tend to be much cooler. Wine, when extracted from these underground caverns and served above ground in a dining room, for example, will have a refreshingly cool sensation on your palate.
White wines, as well, are often served too cold. When you serve a white wine right out of the fridge, its flavors will be subdued and your palate will be slightly numbed by it. This is a great trick if you’re serving swill, but not if you want to enjoy a nice white wine to it’s fullest. Whites too should be served right around cellar temp. Your refrigerator is most likely below 45 degrees F.
So how cold is cool? Technically speaking, somewhere between 55 and 65 degrees F – generally 55 to 60 for whites, 60 to 65 for reds. As a frame of reference, if you went to the beach right now in Los Angeles and stuck your feet in the water you might let out a yelp. The ocean temp in Southern Cali right now is around 56 degrees F... perfect for a Centralas barrel-aged Rose.
*For those of you from Los Angeles, a cellar is a room, or series of rooms, under the ground floor of a house. In other parts of the world these things are common and are also known as basements. Good places for storing wine, rat poison, and unwanted children
- Originally posted May 15, 2007